SOUTH PASADENA, CA — A piece in the South Pasadena Patch looks at the past history and the current state of the Rialto Theatre. More than a lot of endangered theaters in the Los Angeles area, this one coming back seems like such a logical move given the passionate neighborhood and its place in the community.

WARE, MA — The Casino Theater in Ware, which dates to 1909 and may well be the oldest purpose-built movie theater in the USA, is in danger of being demolished. Efforts have been launched to forestall the destruction and to allow more time for a possible rescuer to come forward. The theater last operated as a twin.

Popcorn N Roses has launched a new program aimed at helping theaters in need in the US and around the world.

Dubbed the “Save Our Screens” campaign, this new feature on our parent site at Popcorn N Roses will also be featured in a regular segment on our weekly podcast, Subject:CINEMA, and will probably be spun off into it’s own blog in the near future.

The campaign was inspired by the events in the 2006 documentary Preserve Me A Seat by director Jim Fields, and in particular the campaigns to save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha and the Gaiety Theatre (aka Publix Theatre) in PNR’s home base of Boston. Neither campaign was a success, and it was mostly due to local politics at the time.

TOLEDO, OH — An untouched original 1926 neighborhood theatre is in need of saving! For 30 years it has had X rated programming, but the building has been occupied and heated, so this is NOT a long-derelict falling apart theatre! The Westwood Theatre, 1602 Sylvania Avenue, is located in a modest older, middle-class part of the city. It is stadium-style seating about 600. The original chandeliers are there and there is some plaster damage.

Theatre operation will cease in May, 2011. I am willing to assist as well as donate a theater pipe organ for the long empty chambers.

Landmarks Illinois annual “Ten Most Endangered Historic Places” list was announced last week and includes the New Regal Theater in Chicago and the Will Rogers Theater in Charleston. Also, on a theater-related note, the Park Ridge home and studio of Alfonso Ianelli (1888-1965), the sculptor who designed the interiors of two Chicago-area theaters, the Catlow Theater in Barrington and the Pickwick Theater in Park Ridge, is also on the list.

See this link for the full list and further details of Landmarks Illinois' “Ten Most” program, which was launched in 1995.

WHEATON, IL — When 56 percent of voters in last Tuesday’s election rejected a proposal that would have set aside up to $150,000, the fate of the theatre may have been decided. The building that first opened its doors as a vaudeville house in 1925 has long been the center of controversy over various plans to renovate it. The current owner (Suburban Bank & Trust) will continue to try to sell the property or ultimately, we believe, the building will be demolished and we will be left with an empty lot in the heart of downtown Wheaton, similar to what happened to the DuPage Theater in Lombard.

OPTIONS
Option One: Wheaton Grand Theater as a Live Performance Theater
Option Two: Wheaton Grand Theater as a 9 or 10 screen, First Run Movie Complex
The private theater operator would invest a majority of the funds needed to buy the property, build the structure, and fund the operation.
A new parking structure will probably need to be built by the city to handle the anticipated need.

WASHINGTON, DC — The landmark Takoma Theatre might soon be demolished. According to an article in the March 21, 2011 edition of the Washington Post, the current owner of the abandon theatre working to have the ornate building razed in order to construct an apartment complex.

The District has rejected all of McGinty’s applications to raze the building, along with his appeals.

Now, adding urgency to the script, McGinty is openly rejecting an order from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to repair the Takoma’s roof, gutters and downspouts and to repaint the exterior of a building that hasn’t been used regularly since 2006.